Jack Smith is reportedly sending a message to President Donald Trump: even as he faces the prospect of prosecution, he still possesses weaponizable information that could damage the president.
Speaking at a private event at the Cosmos Club in Washington on April 20, Smith indicated his readiness to take on potential charges and signaled he could deploy unreleased evidence should Trump move forward with retaliatory prosecution, according to video of the event obtained by The New York Times.
"But unlike others targeted by Mr. Trump, Mr. Smith still could inflict damage on the president by revealing unreleased evidence. He appears unfazed by the prospect of shifting from accuser to accused," the Times reported.
The implicit threat underscores the precarious position of both men: Trump is demanding Smith's prosecution, but doing so risks Smith going public with material that could prove damaging to the president. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump's former lead defense lawyer, now controls whether to bring charges, a potential conflict of interest that intensifies the political stakes.
Previously, the White House successfully blocked the release of a section of Smith's final report on the Mar-a-Lago documents case that "might have reminded the public of the evidence used to bolster the indictment," according to the Times.
During his Cosmos Club remarks, Smith accused the Justice Department of being "corrupted" by Trump loyalists, targeting people "simply because the president doesn't like them" and failing to investigate cases that might "uncover facts that are inconvenient narratives the president would like to press."
Smith's posture suggests he's not intimidated by retaliation, according to the Times' reporting. People familiar with his thinking believe prosecution is "likely," yet he continues speaking publicly about the department's institutional crisis and appears prepared to escalate if necessary, according to the report.
The standoff represents an extraordinary moment in American governance: a former special counsel simultaneously under threat of prosecution while possessing evidence that could prove politically catastrophic for the sitting president.
The risk is one that appears to be understood by Republicans, who recently interviewed Smith and know he poses a "serious threat" to the president.
"And while Republicans publicly sought to spin as a victory testimony Mr. Smith gave to a congressional panel behind closed doors in February, they privately conceded that he handled himself well and posed a serious threat to Mr. Trump, given that he had a public forum to publicize his investigations," according to the Times report.